My Little Girl
by DragonRaye
Summary: Krillin is waiting all paranoid in the hospital while 18 is upstairs with Marron. Sappy and reflective, not my usual style. -oneshot-


_This has to be the sappiest (and weirdest) thing I've ever written, so bear with me. Just wanted to see if it should be destroyed or not by the populace. And Jewel is actually 18. I though it'd be kinda cute for Krillin to have a pet name for her._

I think Goku was staring at me because of the rut I'd worn into the waiting room rug, but I could always be wrong. At the end of my current lap, I stopped to look in at the window that held the other children: all healthy and pretty much happy. I couldn't help but scowl. How many of them had an older brother or sister that they knew about, that they could actually meet? Shaking my head, I went back to pacing. It wasn't much better, but at least I was moving. Jewel always said it was a fault of mine that when I was worried or upset I couldn't sit still.

 At the thought of my wife, I stopped and smiled sadly. The last pregnancy wasn't kind to her, and I hoped to Dende that this one would turn out all right. I didn't think I could go through another ordeal like that.

 I felt a heavy hand drop onto my shoulder and I looked up to see Goku's worried face. "You should sit down," he advised, leading me over to a chair. "She'll be fine."

 "She better be," I growled, glaring again at the nurses tending the newborns. "Dende help them if anything goes wrong..."

 Goku's hand tightened, making me look up. "She's a strong woman, Krillin."

 I gritted my teeth. He didn't know what I'd been through before. Gohan would always be his first child. This was my second try.

"Not strong enough, apparently," I muttered, but apparently he head me.

"What does that mean?" He plopped down beside me, o-so-innocent expression back on his face.

I sighed and sat back, trying to force myself to relax. It wasn't working. "I never told you?" When he shook his head, I tried to think back. I'd always told him everything: that's why I wanted him to come with me this time. Waiting alone was a bitch. But I couldn't remember a single time the topic had come up. Hell, half the group hadn't even known about Jewel's pregnancy.

I guess he sensed my hesitation because he sat back and nodded. "It's all right. You don't have to tell me."

"It's not that. I'm just surprised I didn't tell you earlier." I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Damn, how could something like that slip my mind when I was talking to him? He would've helped me. I looked at him, still looking curious. Hell, even if it was just to pass the time. I took a deep breath and started to talk. 

It was the same room with the same damned cheerful wallpaper and worn-out rug, only then there had been more people. Two other men were in the room, one drunk and threatening his girlfriend if she didn't give him a son and the other also pacing behind me, deep in thought.

_ Finally I stopped, the usually incoherent muttering of the intoxicated idiot getting on my already strained nerves. I gritted my teeth when the other guy knocked into me, but kept my gaze on the drunk._

_ "Would you kindly SHUT UP!' I hissed, getting his attention. He swallowed thickly, nodding. When I turned around, the other man had returned to his seat, looking anywhere but me. Either Jewel was right when she said it scared people to death when I got pissed off, or he wasn't as dumb as he looked and knew to stay away. Either way, I got a little bit of peace._

_ I focused on the little kids in the window, pressing a hand to it and wondering when mine would be there. Jewel had been in that damn room over 6 hours already, and I was about ready to go in and kill them all just to see her. I knew that childbirth lasted a long time, but dammit! The nurses should've been down to see me by now._

_ When the door opened, the sober man jumped up expectantly. The woman shook her head and turned to me. "I assume you're Krillin," she said softly. When I nodded, she sighed. "Your wife wants to see you."_

_ From her tone, I knew it wasn't anything good. With a growl, I followed her through the whitewashed halls. Into surgery. "What the hell are we dong HERE?" I demanded, resisting the urge to grab her._

_ "You see..." she began, not turning to face me. Which was probably a good thing considering the fact that she'd probably run screaming. "Your wife had some... complications with the baby."_

_ "Dammit, don't play around with me! Just tell me what it means!"_

_ "The baby was born dead and your wife is dying."_

_ That shook me to the core. I brushed past her, and it took every last drop of my self-control to control my strength enough not to seriously hurt her. A little voice in the back of my head told me I should be grateful I wasn't a Saiyan because a hospital isn't the greatest place to reach a new level._

_ I saw Jewel, covered in blood and looking far too fragile, propped up on the operating table. The doctor stepped in front of me, looking somber._

_ "We've done all we can, young man," he said softly. At that moment I didn't care about his compassion. I only wanted to get to Jewel. The doctor was full of shit._

_ "Out of my way," I growled, watching as my aura burst to life. "I want to see my wife."_

_ He nodded and stepped out of the way, looking at the medical team to back away as well. Thoughtful man. I marched over to the table, glaring at the red-stained sheets and wondering what the hell had happened._

_ Jewel's eyes lit up when he saw me, but I help her shoulders down so he couldn't sit. "Krillin..."_

_ "Don't talk," I whispered, slipping my hand into hers, "Save your energy."_

_ She wiped her blond hair back with a bloodied hand. "I'm going to die, Krillin," she said weakly, squeezing my hand gently._

_ "I won't let you," I protested. "There's always the dragonballs anyway." But I knew that I would die before she could. I promised myself that._

_ "This is natural," she said with a tiny smile. "They can't."_

_ I kept my firm grip on her hand like it was a lifeline. And it probably was. To my sanity. If I lost her too, I didn't know what I would do. Probably blow up the planet or something. So I did the only thing I could think of. I raised my free hand and waited for the warm yellow light to engulf it before smiling down at my wife._

_ "Krillin NO," she said, trying to sit up, but my hand wouldn't let her. "Don't."_

_ "I have to," I whispered, kissing her cheek. I pressed my hand to her chest and felt my ki filter into her. I closed my eyes when the sleepiness overtook me, then I felt strong arms catch me when I fell. My last thought before unconsciousness hit was that I hoped it was enough. _

 Goku didn't say anything when I stopped talking. He just nodded in understanding and put a hand on my arm. So many people think he's stupid or slow, but he's not, really. He thinks on a need-to-do basis, which is better than most people I guess. I mean, look at me now. I'm a freaking nervous wreck.

 "I just don't want to lose her." I finished quietly. "I don't want to think about what I would do if that happened."

 Goku tapped my arm. "From what I just heard, you BOTH almost died. That's what I'M here for this time."

 I couldn't help but smile, then I nodded. "Thanks, Goku." There were so many things I didn't say in that sentence, but he seemed to understand them all.

 The door opened slowly and I jumped up, Goku right behind me. The same nurse as before, clipboard in hand, looked up. "Krillin?" I nodded and she looked down. "The baby was born prematurely, so we can't bring it down for you, but you may go up to see your wife."

 I grinned and thanked ever Deity I'd ever heard of that Jewel was okay. Goku grinned at him and patted my shoulder. "Come on. Let's go."

 By the time we got to Jewel's room, I was completely lost. The hospital was a freaking MAZE! But as far as I was concerned, it could be the labyrinth with Dende knows what it in, as long as I got to see Jewel. The nurse pushed the door open and scowled at my best friend.

 "I only called Krillin," she declared in a voice that plainly said "Get lost."

 "And I asked him to come with me," I told her. "Can't he stay?" With another stern glare, she turned on her heel and went down the hall. "What's THAT all about?"

 He grinned sheepishly. "I was here when Gohan, Goten and Trunks were born. I think she got tired of fixing the door when they brought out the needles. She doesn't like me too much."

 I smiled at the thought. Needles were the only thing Goku was scared to death of, and everyone had yet to figure out why. I guess that even we have secrets between each other.

 "Are you gonna stand there all day?" he asked, pushing me in the general direction of the door. "She's waiting for you."

 I pushed open the door and smiled at the scene. As always, Jewel was arguing with the doctors and demanding that she be allowed to hold her child. And as usual, the poor men were scared into it. As tired as she was, she still had a mouth on her.

 I went over and leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead before looking down at the baby curled up in her arms. "Hey Jewel."

 She smiled up at me, nodding. "Hey Daddy. How are you?"

 Looking down at the sweat plastering her body, I grinned. "Probably a little better than you." I put a hand out to our child and grinned. "How's the kid?"

 "Loud," she admitted with a grin. "She takes after me already."

 "She? I have a daughter?"

 "Hope you're not disappointed," she said with a grin, handing her to me. "Take her, Daddy. She's getting heavy." I chuckled and accepted the girl, grinning down at her. She had blond fuzz and always moving black eyes. She looked at me cross-eyed, and I knew her born-dead brother was all the son I would need.

 "Have you named her yet?" I asked, rocking her a little.

 "I thought you might like to have the honor," Jewel relied tiredly. "After I did all the work."

 A name popped into my head instantly, and I was surprised to realize it wasn't Jewel's real one. My first real girlfriend. Marron. For some reason that I couldn't put my finger on, she'd made a real impact on me.

 "How about Marron?"

 My wife smiled at me and nodded. "Perfect." I held up my daughter and grinned. I knew perfectly well that a child of 5 minutes can't focus their eyes, but she looked at me like she'd known me all my life.

 "How about you, kid? What do you think?" Something like a smile crossed her chubby face as I laid her down on Jewel.

 "Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have a winner," Jewel said, wrapping her arms around Marron.

 "Are we going to tell her?" I asked, looking at Jewel.

 "I don't see why not. She deserves to know that she could've had an older brother to annoy and scare off dates." I sat down and kissed her again, carefully keeping Marron out of the tiny space between us.

 When I looked up, I didn't see Goku anywhere. I didn't know when he'd left, but I smiled a thank-you anyway. Laying down beside my family, I grinned and put an arm on Jewel's waist. I was so happy she was safe. Her, and my little girl.


End file.
